Frank Frantz was born and raised in Illinois and educated at Eureka College before joining Col. Theodore Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders” in the Spanish-American War (1898). Following the war, he moved to Enid, Oklahoma, where he was named Postmaster (1901-1903). He remained a close friend of President Roosevelt and was appointed Indian Agent of the Osage Agency at Pawhuska until he was appointed Territorial Governor of Oklahoma in January of 1906. He was not only the youngest governor to serve in the territory, but also its seventh and last governor, and spent his remaining years in the oil business in Tulsa. His administration was highlighted by his preservation of school lands for future benefit of the state’s common schools and the struggle for the adoption of the Oklahoma Constitution. It was during his administration, on June 16, 1906, that his friend President Roosevelt signed the Enabling Act which granted Oklahoma statehood. Frantz ran for governor of the new state of Oklahoma, but was defeated by Charles Haskell.